Tag Archives: kitchen

Staying in bed until 8h30 AM, chilling with my cats and my boyfriend, then preparing a hearty breakfast. That’s my idea of heaven.

Today I was prepared to make crepes. However, we had some leftover spice cake and that inspired me to try something new: Spice cake french toast.

This recipe is easy and does not require tremendous cooking skills. If you can manage to do so, set the spice cake out the night before so it will dry (make sure to slice it). If not, follow the instructions as it can be done without the drying process.

You will need:
+ 1 350g spice cake (can be found at most large surface grocery stores)
+ 2 eggs
+ 1/2 cup of milk
+ 1 or 2 drops of vanilla extract

optional: 1 teaspoon sugar (for those with major sweet tooth’s, careful though because most spice cakes are already very sweet).

+ Cut the spice cake into 1 inch thick slices
+ IF and ONLY if you haven’t set the slices out the night before, toast them or grill them on a plaque until they are dry. (Time will depend on your toaster or oven so keep an eye on them)
+ Mix the eggs, milk and vanilla extract (plus sugar if you want some) in a bowl.
+ Heat the frying pan at medium temperature. Don’t forget to add a drop of oil or a small dollop of butter to prevent sticking if your pan is old or if the non-sticking surface is not efficient anymore.
+ Drop each slice of spice cake, one at a time, into the batter. Leave it in for approx. 30 seconds.
+ Put the slices on the frying pan and cook, turning them over often, until the sides are brown and a bit crispy.

After having lived here for over a year, we’re finally able to say that our kitchen is pretty much complete and looks like a real, functional kitchen. That feels nice.

I’d already shared glimpses of the kitchen’s white and blue decor in this previous article. Here’s the full reveal (Please excuse the bad grain in the photos, I’m having trouble with the indoor lighting of photos these days):

The room’s white and blue color scheme was inspired by the Cyclades, a group of Greek islands situated in the Aegean Sea. There, the local architecture mostly consists of cubic, whitewashed houses with colorful roofs (often in deep blue shades that mimic the color of the surrounding waters).

The cookbook and spice shelf. If ever you stumble upon a book from the Grain de Sel collection, edited by Raphaele Vidaling, grab it! Here are a few of the good titles available: How to forget your ex with the stab of a fork, Fairytale food, Try this and marry me! or Young globetrotting Swedish female seeks guinea pigs.

Yes, I know, half my books are upside down. Not sure why but I kind of like it this way.

The Vargas girl poster. Alberto Vargas is one of the most famous pin-up artists of all time. I’ve always loved the pin-up aesthetic and his work is especially classy and sensual.

The mason jar shelf. I dismantled an old bookcase and decided to reuse the shelves. I’ve always liked mason jars and the endless possibilities they offer in terms of decor and practical storage so I searched the Internet in order to find an idea for a project that would use both my old shelves and some jars. This awesome tutorial is what inspired me.

I still haven’t decided what I’m going to put on the middle shelf but I know that I want to break the pattern so I’ll probably put hanging planters or something like that.

Washi tape on the cabinet door handles. I had never heard of washi tape before I bought it and used it to cover my boring old cabinet doorknobs. I just randomly stumbled upon this pretty, colorful japanese tape at the craft store, thinking it would be very versatile in covering dull surfaces. Apparently it’s really trendy in the craft world right now.

I’m using it as a temporary solution for the knobs, but it’s doing a pretty good job so far even though the edges can be a bit sharp. I used three layers of the magical product that is Mod Podge to make the tape stay in place.

What’s cooking? Grilled Eggplant and Brussel sprouts. I spend part of every Tuesday cooking for the week to come. I work 40 hours starting Wednesday and finishing Saturday, so after 11.5 hour shifts, the last thing I feel like doing is cooking.

‘What about your boyfriend?’ You ask…

Well, let’s just say that cooking is my part of the deal and he does lots of other stuff around the house.

This week I made: Chicken broth (which I will use to make shrimp soup with vermicelli), Carrot soup, Beef steak marinated in a Hoisin/tamari/garlic/ginger sauce, Duck confit (store bought!) and the eggplant. Sounds pretty good huh? 🙂 If you’d like some recipes please let me know, I’d be glad to share!